first warning weather coverage begins with kai jackson. >> reporter: snow, wind and ice, are blamed for at least two deaths and many accidents. >> reporter: as the wintry storm blew across the state of illinois, there was only one way to describe it. >> it's freezing. and the wind is terrible. cold. >> reporter: earlier thursday, traffic crawled to a near standstill here, as the snow began to fall, stranding cars, it's part of the same massive system that crippled kansas. parts of the state got nearly a half foot of snow. and that's not all. a mix of thunder and lightning made for an unusual event called thunder snow. across the midwest, icy, snowy roads, create a treacherous driving conditions. >> see the roads, ice. it's dangerous. >> reporter: on one slick road, a minivan slid directly into a stoplight before the giant pole came crashing down. and in the town of lawrence, kansas, a car erupted in the flames as it tried to climb a snowy hill. for much of the day, a 200-mile stretch of a major highway highway in kansas, interstate 70, was closed. the plows were out in full force, tryin